Stress in pregnancy affects child’s brain

These days I’d have thought being stressed is a condition of any pregnancy. New research, however, shows women who become stressed during pregnancy are at greater risk of having children with a personality disorder. That makes me wonder how many … Read More

Mindfulness is such a great stressbuster

Mindfulness is a word of our times but how many people know what it means? And even fewer would know how to practise it. So what exactly is it? I try to use mindfulness when I can, in a very simple form … Read More

Early blood test may help to tackle lung cancer

Early diagnosis is key to survival from cancer – allowing quicker treatment, better outcomes and fewer deaths. This is especially true for lung cancer. About 47,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK every year, 41,000 of who … Read More

Vegetarians have a higher risk of having a stroke

You might think vegetarians, since they don’t eat meat, are automatically healthier than meat-eaters. Not necessarily so according to new research reported in the British ­Medical Journal. The study shows vegetarians have a higher risk of stroke but a lower … Read More

Irregular sleep could be bad for metabolism

Recently I wrote about how too little sleep disrupted the body’s internal clock which upsets our metabolism. Now a new study suggests that even if we’re getting enough sleep in terms of hours, irregular sleep can also send it haywire. … Read More

Marriage is not always the be-all and end-all for women

Years ago when I was writing a book, Everywoman’s Lifeguide, and was comparing the ­happiness achieved for ­different life ­options, I came across research that said marriage was bad for women. It made them unhappy. For women, I thought, marriage … Read More